2 Chapter 2

"Emilio, pass!" I did as I was ordered. My pass safely reached Filippo who shook off my father. We were training in the backyard right now. Filippo and Simone were training to get better at getting rid of their marker and I was training to pass the ball to the exact place the striker wants to have it. Simone and Filippo were good target men.

They were both good at headers and when they have the ball in front of the goal they just needed to take a good shot. So to have them work 110% you need to give them a good pass or cross. That's my job to do. To give a pass which penetrates the defense and safely reach the striker.

My father passed the ball to me and instructed me to cross the ball in front of the goal and let my older brothers fight for it. I did as I was said but it wasn't as easy because my father was applying pressure from behind. Luckily he wasn't holding back or else I would never have a chance. As my father was chasing me, I ran along the sidelines. I gave a rather clumsy cross towards the goal because I was afraid of my father intercepting the ball. Filippo being the older and the taller one manages to get the ball in the air and headed it in the goal.

"Filippo! That header was an easy catch for the keeper. Put more power behind it. Simone, since you are smaller than your brother don't make it easy for him to head the ball. If he doesn't manage to get the ball wait for the ball to drop and it's all yours. " My father told them.

He crouched down next to me. "Emilio, I want you to switch sometimes to low passes." I nodded. We resumed our training.

12 years later...

18/8/1997

After playing for 12 years for Piacenza, a team called Perugia asked me to join their youth team. I went there because it won't take long for them to relegate. I am only one player of 11 players on the field, I can't do everything. I am now on a bus together with the youth team of Perugia. We are about to play against Atalanta BC also known as Atalanta Bergamo. My brother Filippo was currently playing for its first team. When he was playing with this team he was crowned as the top scorer of the Serie A with 24 goals. I just couldn't wait to compete against him.

"Are you ready for the match, Emilio?" asked my teammate Leonardo. Leonardo and I share a room at the dorms. Since it takes 4 hours to drive from Piacenza to Perugia I had to sleep at the dorms. It was rather different then I was used to but I guess it would take some time.

"Sure I am ready! I'm feeling good today!" I answered.

"That's great, I wanna see what our newbie is capable of in an actual match. Don't choke during the game."

I stretched my arms.

"Like hell, I would choke during the game. Rest assured, my pass will reach you safely." He stood and started laughing out loud. He gave me thumbs up and said. "Of course the ball will get to me. Then it's my job as the main striker to score goals."

After an assault of insult of his teammates, he quickly sat down and dozed for the rest of the ride.

When we got off the bus, I stretched off and followed the line that was entering the stadium. I was always excited before the game but it wasn't something bad to be excited because it made me go till the last minute of the game.

We entered the locker room and dressed up. Coach told us the line-up and gave us instructions. As I expected, my responsibility was to control the pace of the game, to give long passes to the strikers and to support the defense if necessary.

We left the locker room and warmed up. After the warming up was done we went to our positions. The coin toss decided that we should begin with the kick-off. Here we go, the first game of the season.

Atalanta BC vs Perugia Calcio